VBS – Vacation Bible School
Last week we had our own VBS right here at home. While I know it’s typically enjoyed as a day camp type of experience, we couldn’t afford our church’s VBS this year. So we opted for Holy Heroes online version. It’s called Summer Faith Adventure and you can click on the title to find out more about it. I believe they’re offering it for another week or two. These aren’t affiliate links, I just enjoyed what the kids and I did last week, so I thought I’d share. Also, I love to be able to support small, family-owned, Christian businesses whenever I can.
Anyway… This program consisted of a daily email for the five days. In each email was a link to the day’s activities; which included video lessons, crafts, games, and snacks. There were also audio links to daily songs, a decade of the Rosary, and the Angelus. Also within the link was a pdf file of the suggested order of the day, questions for the Biblical instruction, song lyrics, recipes, and instructions for the games and crafts. For older kids, there was a section with a list of Bible passages for them to read and determine the main theme.
The message for the week centered around the Kingdom of David; both the original one and the new one established by Jesus. We discussed the the Old Testament stories of Jesse, Samuel’s anointing of David, and more. Then the children learned what Jesus did and how it mirrored or was related to the Old Testament. Throughout the course of the week, the children were introduced to the sacraments and taught how Jesus instituted them for us. They were able to see how each one came directly from the Bible.
On Monday, we discussed the “Keys of the Kingdom” and the “Master of the palace.” The children learned about the role of the master of the palace in Old Testament times and how Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven, making him the master of the palace here on earth. Our craft of the day was to make a Papal Miter, similar to the one described in the book of Exodus.
Ya never know – could be a future Pope…
Our snack that day was to take sugar cookie dough and make crowns and keys. Well, these aren’t popular cookie cutter shapes, so we did get some interesting cookies (though I forgot to to a picture of how they turned out).
On Tuesday, they made stained glass windows. One of the things they learned was that originally, stained glass windows were used to help those who couldn’t read to better understand the Bible. These windows told stories.
See the cross?
This is supposed to be a dove, but she said it looked more like a duck when she was done!
Another craft we did was a prayer book. The pdf file had a couple of pages of prayers typed out for us. All we had to do was cut them out. The kids made small booklets out of colored paper, and stapled the spines. Then they took their prayers and glued one to each page. Diva even used some fancy scissors to make hers more decorative (she is her mother’s daughter!). Then they had the option of illustrating each page. Both of them did a cover page for their book. Now they have a small-sized prayer book to help them learn and remember some prayers they may not have known before. It’s a convenient size to take anywhere!
Obviously I didn’t include everything that they did this week – this post would be way too long! But if you like what you see, hop on over to the Summer Faith Adventure and sign up for one of the remaining weeks! Did I mention that the online version is offered at no charge?
How was your Vacation Bible School this year?
* This post is being linked to Women Living Well Wednesdays, Building Our Homes Together with Jesus, Women in the Word Wednsedays, and Thankful Thursdays. Please click on over and see what other ladies are doing in their homes!
10 Comments
Mrs.T
What a nice idea to have your own VBS at home! Looks like so much fun and learning going on!
Our church didn’t do a VBS this year, but I was always heavily involved when they did. A busy — yet, for the kids — unforgettable time. Some of our church kids are attending a VBS in a neighboring town this year.
Thanks for sharing your family’s fun!
Lynn
Heather, My friend.
I wanted to stop in and just give you a hug. I also want to tell you that I remember, vividly one summer when my mother had VBS at home for the three of us kids. It was a and still is a precious memory for me. This will mean so much to your kids. Well done good and faithful servant. Love you much and hugging you tight today. Love, Lynn
Linda Stubbs
Hey sweet friend,
thank you for leaving a comment. wasn’t that the neatest story? so glad it blessed you!
Love this,
Linda
Patti Hanan
What a great idea to have Vacation Bible School in your home. I am glad to know there is a group that does this. This is something your kids will always remember, and it will help them grow in the Lord. God bless you.
rachelanneridge
What a great idea – looks like it was a full week of crafts and lessons – and fun! I am impressed! I haven’t done VBS for several years now (kids are too old, waah) but I always loved it….well, not the exhaustion that came with VBS week, but it was always a highlight. Great to know there are online options out there!!
Have a great weekend!
Tami Boesiger
Great idea! Looks like your kids had a blast.
Lisa Maria
Hi Heather.. I wanted to stop by and thank you for visiting and leaving such a nice comment. My daughter is really looking forward to Spain.. we just spent all day at a Viva Catolica event where our Archbishop officially ‘appointed’ the youth as representatives of our Archdiocese. It was exciting being a part of it.. even though it poured for most of the day. It really warmed my heart to see the young people worshiping God in the pouring rain!
Love your idea for a VBS at home.. so creative! Following you back 😉
Trish
Although it’s sad to hear that your church charges a fee for VBS, it sounds like you had a great time on your own! We haven’t done VBS because it’s a bit much for my son, although he went to the preschool VBS one year when he was 7 because his babysitter was teaching and he really enjoyed that.
My husband has started reading a series of Bible books at bedtime that have been a big hit with my son, so that has been a good thing for us recently.
Danielle
Thank you for stopping by my blog! I wanted to return the favor 🙂 Love the VBS at home idea!
Danielle
Christina
I love the idea of having VBS at home!!!! Everything you did with your kids was just great! Thank you for sharing and thank you for visiting my blog, I’m going to have to look into the book you suggested, “Winning him without words”.
Thanks again 🙂